Google has also rolled out a 'spatial audio' feature to simulates the effect of sounds coming from different directions and distances, to make the experience feel even more real.

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YouTube has launched a feature that lets makers of videos livestream 360-degree clips, designed to be viewed using virtual reality headsets. An example of the kind of footage is shown above

A handful of concerts at Coachella music festival in California (example shown) are the first to make use of the feature and you can watch the footage navigating an arena or tent as if you were there

The features will allow the video platform to go head-to-head with Facebook, which is making a grab for the VR market with the launch of a 360° camera and a content hub for it, which it unveiled last week.

YouTube first launched support for 360° videos a year ago, with brands like GoPro and Nike experimenting with it.

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The format allows PC users to use a mouse to adjust their perspective and, but when viewed on a VR headset, you can simply 'look around' a space as if you were standing inside it, making for a far more immersive experience.

The new features mean YouTubers like Zoella and KSI could embrace VR-friendly formats.

YouTube first launched support for 360° videos a year ago, with brands like GoPro and Nike experimenting with it. A selection of 360° videos of the Coachella festival is shown above

FACEBOOK AND VIRTUAL REALITY

Last week, Facebook gave the world a first glimpse of what it's virtual reality app might look like.

At the firm's developer conference in San Francisco, it showed off a VR 'selfie stick' allowing people to take holiday snaps in any location they visit virtually.

The demonstration used the Oculus Rift, Facebook's VR headset which it began delivering to consumers last month.

Michael Booth of Facebook showed off the technology on stage, visiting a virtual London to take a snap on a bridge - even though the two people in it were in separate locations around Silicon Valley.

Mark Zuckerberg revealed Facebook's plans for the next decade - claiming the firm's goal is to 'give everyone the power to share anything with anyone', expecially using video.

'We think we are at the edge of the golden age of video,' he said.

Facebook opened its Live platform to allow developers to stream video content from their applications to audiences at the social network.

Messenger and Live will be built out further in coming years, along with virtual reality technology at Facebook-owned Oculus, according to Zuckerberg.

The company unveiled a Surround 360 camera but won't make the gadget itself, instead making its plans open source so other companies can.

The camera has seven high-resolution cameras cased in a full aluminum body.

The hardware is also coupled with custom software that automatically stitches together the immense amount of high-resolution video the camera records, and permits wireless control of the camera.

All that's needed is a 360-degree camera and the ability to upload video at between 10Mbps and 20Mbps, and while the kit may be expensive at the moment, a rash of new launches means prices will likely fall.

Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer at YouTube wrote in a blog post: 'What excites me most about 360° storytelling is that it lets us open up the world's experiences to everyone.

'Students can now experience news events in the classroom as they unfold.

'Travellers can experience faraway sites and explorers can deep-sea dive, all without the physical constraints of the real world.

'…What were once limited experiences are now available to anyone, anywhere, at any time.'

YouTube is also rolling out 3D audio, which it calls 'spatial audio' that enables more realistic sounds to be recorded using special microphones.

Mr Mohan said: 'Just as watching a concert in 360° can give you an unmatched immersive experience, spatial audio allows you to listen along as you do in real life, where depth, distance and intensity all play a role.'

The feature will become increasingly important when virtual reality headsets become more stream, because poor or omni-directional sound will ruin an otherwise immersive experience.

At launch, users can only listen to the spatial audio effect via YouTube's Android app.

To showcase the 360° livestreaming, YouTube is streaming a number of performances during Coachella.

'We'll also make 360° live streaming and spatial audio technologies available at all YouTube Space locations around the globe, so you can take it for a spin,' Mr Mohan added.

The launch gives YouTube a temporary edge over Facebook, which lets users post 360-degree clips or live streams – but not footage that combines the two.

The 360 video format (sleection of current videos availabel on YouTube shown) allows PC users to use a mouse to adjust their perspective and, but when viewed on a VR headset, you can simply 'look around' a space as if you were standing inside it, making for a far more immersive experience

Paolo Pescatore, Director, Multiplay and Media at tech analyst firm CCS Insight told MailOnline: 'YouTube already offers live streams and virtual reality 360 degree videos, and this latest move cements its position as a distribution platform for virtual reality and the first to offer live video in 360°.

'There is no denying that people want to share experiences and live the moment with friends and relatives. It is therefore a logical move for YouTube and another way for people to be engaged with the platform.

For YouTube, it is important to stay ahead of its rivals most notably Facebook who is investing heavily in live video.

'We expect providers who own sports rights are looking at ways of providing a more immersive experience for their customers and video is proving to be a battle ground for all web providers as the industry evolves.'

Chris Green, a tech analyst at Lewis business consultancy told the BBC: 'We're seeing a lot of interest in virtual reality driven by the surge in affordable VR headsets that use smartphones as their screens.

'And we're definitely at the land-grab stage at the moment. YouTube, Facebook - and I suspect a few others that will emerge very shortly - are going to push hard to be as dominant as early as possible.'